Following Lampard's decisive goal for England in Wednesday night's 2-1 win over Brazil, reports emerged suggesting the 34-year-old had been offered new contract to extend his 12-year stay at Stamford Bridge.

Such a move would suggest an about-turn by Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, who previously had been prepared to allow Lampard to leave at the end of the season.

Chelsea declined to comment when asked about Lampard's contract negotiations, and Benitez is unlikely to do so as well.

The Spaniard is under contract only until the end of the season and could be succeeded by Jose Mourinho, with a return to west London for the Portuguese also mooted this week.

Lampard was a stalwart in Mourinho's successful Chelsea side and is closing in on the club's goalscoring record following his 2001 move from West Ham, despite being a more peripheral figure this term.

Lampard is five behind the Blues' goalscoring record of 202 held by Bobby Tambling and has showed his value to Chelsea on a number of occasions this season.

He also proved he still has an international future with England, who beat Brazil for the first time in 23 years.

His 27th international goal on the occasion of his 94th cap prompted England boss Roy Hodgson to state his preference for the midfielder to stay in Europe ahead of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.